This invention relates to a new and improved dual read-record head for magnetic card machine actuator. Reference is made to earlier patents of assignee U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,020,325 issued Apr. 26, 1977, and 4,024,379 issued May 17, 1977, on which the present invention is an improvement. Many of the objects and advantages of the prior patents are applicable to the present invention. It will be observed that many of the mechanisms hereinafter described are likewise disclosed in said patents, and, for brevity, some of the features are not herein described in detail. Reference is further made to U.S. application Ser. No. 06/161,333 filed June 20, 1980, owned by the assignee of this application.
A continuing problem in the service of providing coin-operated laundry machines installed in apartment houses and other locations is the temptation to cheat the machines either by the use of slugs, by prying open coin boxes, or other means. The use of encoded magnetic tape cards which initially are so encoded as to furnish plural operations of the washer or dryer machines is disclosed in said patents. The present invention provides a number of improvements thereon.
A further feature of the use of such cards is that the cost of each use need not necessarily be in integral multiples of 5 cents, 10 cents, or 25 cents. Consequently, the cost of each use may be set to any value, even fractional.